50 Communication Strategies Examples

Communication strategies are defined as systematic plans designed to promote information exchange or engagement between an entity and its target audience (DeVito, 2012).

Communication strategies are often designed to influence attitudes, behaviors, or understanding of people (Stanton, 2017).

We can use communication strategies on a person-to-person level – coming up with ways to communicate more effectively in our daily lives – or marketing level, such as when marketing and PR companies come up with campaigns designed to communicate brand identity and offerings.

Furthermore, as a form of pedagogy, communication strategies are used to help facilitate learning and comprehension.

Let’s explore some more examples below. The first 25 are for interpersonal communication, while the second 25 are for marketing communication.

Communication Strategies Examples

Interpersonal Communication

1. Active Listening: Active listening is the practice of fully focusing, understanding, responding, and remembering what is being communicated. This strategy requires full attention and careful processing of verbal and non-verbal cues to grasp the speaker’s message.

2. Feedback Loops: Feedback loops are essential mechanisms for individuals to exchange views or understandings. They can help identify misconceptions, improve strategies, and ensure all parties are on the same page.

3. Non-verbal Cues Awareness: This refers to the conscious recognition and interpretation of non-verbal signals or ‘social cues‘ like facial expressions, body language, or tone of voice in communication. By practicing this strategy, you can detect unspoken feelings or attitudes that might not come across in words.

4. Open-ended Questioning: Open-ended questions cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”. By allowing the speaker to express their ideas in their own words, you encourage fuller, fresher responses and stimulate more interactive communication.

5. Storytelling: Storytelling is an age-old technique that involves conveying ideas and messages through a narrative. This strategy can evoke emotions, create connection, and increase the understanding or retention of information.

6. Clear and Concise Messaging: This strategy involves distilling complex ideas down to their simplest forms for ease of understanding. Clear and concise messaging diminishes room for misinterpretation and ensures the core message is well received.

7. Repetition for Emphasis: A key strategy in communication, repetition, involves restating crucial points or messages multiple times to reinforce understanding or retention. This assists in emphasizing significant issues and ensuring maximum impact.

8. Visual Aids and Infographics: Utilizing visual aids like diagrams, charts or infographics supports verbal communication by providing a visual representation of the topic. This can boost understanding, particularly for complex or abstract concepts.

See Also: Visual Communication Examples

9. Use of Emotional Intelligence: Emotional intelligence refers to the capacity to perceive, handle, and assess emotions. By applying emotional intelligence in communication, you can interpret emotions effectively, foster positive interactions, and navigate potential conflicts.

10. Empathetic Communication: Empathic communication is about understanding and sharing the feelings of others during a conversation. It promotes trust, respect, and mutual understanding, paving the way for more fruitful discussions.

11. Tailored Messaging: Tailored messaging involves adjusting your communication style or content to match your audience’s specific needs or contexts. This personalization can lead to higher engagement, understanding, and positive response rates.

12. Feedback Solicitation: Actively asking for feedback from others provides valuable insights into how your communication is received and areas for improvement. This promotes a culture of openness and continuous learning.

13. Using Analogies and Metaphors: This strategy involves the use of analogies and metaphors to explain complex concepts. Simplifying hard-to-grasp ideas this way can help your audience better understand your message (Rath & Bharadwaj, 2017).

14. Transparent Communication: Transparent communication requires honesty and forthcomingness in delivering messages. It builds trust, nurtures a supportive communication climate, and encourages open dialogue.

15. Avoiding Jargon: Avoiding technical language or jargon that the receiver may not understand is integral to clear communication. By sticking to simple and familiar language, the message can be understood more accurately.

See More Interpersonal Communication Examples Here

Marketing Communication

1. Brand Storytelling: Brand storytelling is a narrative marketing strategy, helping humanize the brand and create emotional ties with customers. This strategy is not about selling products, but expressing who you are as a brand (Naumovska, 2017).

2. Content Marketing: This strategy involves creating valuable content to engage customers, instead of direct sales pitches. Content marketing aims to establish a brand as an expert in its industry and keep it top-of-mind for consumers.

3. Social Media Campaigns: Social media campaigns involve using one or more social platforms to promote a product, service, or idea. These campaigns connect brands with a wide audience, promoting interaction and increasing visibility (Komariah, Erdiana, & Mutia, 2020).

4. Influencer Partnerships: This strategy is based on partnering with influencers – individuals who have a strong online presence or followers – to promote products or services. Their endorsements can boost a brand’s reach and credibility, especially among younger consumers (Naumovska, 2017).

5. Email Marketing and Newsletters: Email marketing involves sending direct messages to potential or current customers. Well-designed newsletters can provide valuable content, offer special deals, and keep your brand in customers’ minds.

6. User-Generated Content Promotion: User-generated content is promotion by customers themselves, often through reviews or social media posts about a brand. Encouraging and sharing this authentic content can increase trust and draw in other potential customers.

7. Interactive Webinars and Live Sessions: These are online events where a brand shares information or experiences in real-time. They encourage interactive communication, strengthen customer relationships, and position your brand as an industry leader.

8. Advertising: This traditional strategy involves creating and placing promotional messages across various media. Advertising is a proven way of reaching large audiences, raising brand awareness, and persuading consumers to buy (Stanton, 2017).

9. Customer Testimonials and Case Studies: These are real-life examples of how a brand’s product or service met a customer’s needs. They add authenticity to a brand’s messages and can be convincing sales tools.

10. Loyalty Programs: These reward customers for repeat business, improving customer retention and augmenting sales. A well-executed loyalty program gives consumers a reason to continue doing business with a brand (Naumovska, 2017).

11. Product Launches and Press Releases: A product launch is a powerful communication strategy that generates buzz around a new product or service. Simultaneously, press releases provide detailed information about significant company news to journalists and the broader public.

12. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategies: SEO involves improving a website to increase its visibility in search engine results. High SEO rankings can attract more visitors, who may turn into customers.

13. Crisis Management Plans: These are pre-established guidelines to handle a sudden crisis negatively affecting the brand. Effective crisis management helps maintain customer trust, even when things go wrong.

14. Audience Segmentation: It’s about dividing a brand’s target market into subgroups based on shared traits. Such segmentation allows for more accurate targeting and tailored communication strategies (Stanton, 2017).

15. Cross-Promotion with Complementary Brands: This strategy involves a partnership between two brands to promote each other’s products or services. Such collaborations can expose each brand to the other’s customer base, leading to increased visibility and sales opportunities.

Conclusion

Communication strategies are an integral part of our professional and personal interactions. They help in disseminating information effectively, thus bridging the gap between different people, departments, or organizations. Given their significance, learning to develop and deploy effective communication strategies is a vital skill in today’s interconnected world.

References

Bloomfield, E. (2019). Communication strategies for engaging climate skeptics: Religion and the environment. Routledge.

DeVito, J. A. (2012). 50 Communication Strategies. iUniverse.

Komariah, E., Erdiana, N., & Mutia, T. (2020). Communication strategies used by EFL students in classroom speaking activities. International Journal of Language Studies, 14(3).

Naumovska, L. (2017). Marketing communication strategies for generation Y–millennials. Business Management and Strategy, 8(1), 123-133.

Rath, P., & Bharadwaj, A. (2017). Communication Strategies for Corporate Leaders: Implications for the Global Market. New York: Taylor & Francis.

Stanton, R. (2017). Strategic Corporate Communication. London: Macmillan Education UK. ISBN: 9781137544087, 1137544082.